All 26.0 - What To Do?
After the events in Duvallon, Ryuji was guilt-ridden, both for attacking his allies and for inflicting mind-control upon Cohen: the latter was much too similar to what Xander had done to him for comfort. Ryuji, Cheko and Cohen returned all returned to Engiadina the next day: Ryuji wanted to ask Caitlyn to remove Cohen’s collar, and Cheko had decided to see if she could stay with Caitlyn or Bastion for a while, as she needed to recuperate after her emotional trauma from recent events. In order to make the lengthy, cross-continent trip, Cheko had to teleport them first to the coast of Eshbol in order to use the portal they had made where they left the boat so that it could take them to Dionisia. When they arrived, they found Carrot who, after being abandoned for several months, had invited a local kobold warren to move into the boat and docking area. She had apparently taken three partners, hatched several children and the warren was quite happy there. Everyone was happy for her, but needed to move the kobolds out of the way so that they could activate the portal. Meanwhile, Pierce took Victor, Lucca and Clover to Duvallon, without telling the others, in order to ask Xander if he could cast Stone to Flesh on Tarragon, and whether they could have Ryuji’s belongings back, seeing as how Xander had taken and kept his bag of holding. They approached his stolen home with decorum once more, now met with a much more mentally-equipped doorman. When he came out, the necromancer was still surprised at how these people were still talking to him so politely and non-violently, as that certainly wasn't how things were done in the Underdark. He was recalcitrant in returning Ryuji’s things, as they were already divided and sorted away in various storehouses, or given to his minions. They argued congenially about it, but as they did, an All began to appear out of thin air. It was quickly dispatched by Xander, who complained that they kept popping up. The area was rife with planar weaknesses, he complained; he mentioned that he had a way to seal them, but it required a time-consuming daily maintenance ritual that he couldn’t spare the time for, and he needed a focus component he didn't have besides. They pressed him for more information, and he explained that he required a chunk of particular crystal: the specific crystal that Pandemonium moon pearls were made from. For the sake of stopping the All, Victor agreed to let Xander reconstitute his moon pearl into a focus for the ritual. Xander agreed, as it was a benefit to him to no longer have to split his focus between the army and the All, so in exchange for providing someone to cast and maintain the ritual for him, he would make the focus and teach the sealing ritual to them. Once the agreement was made, he explained that he'd have to go back to the Underdark for a while to fetch the methodology, since he didn’t recall it off-hand. It would take him about 10 days to return to his base them, find them and get back. Meanwhile, the others postulated that there must be more rifts than just the one in Duvallon: there was one at the Seat of the Firehawk, one in the Arroyito city that Clover had watched fall, and at least one, if not several, in Mirilarin. In order to close them all, they would have to find more stones for Xander to make into focuses. Excited to not have the All pestering him continuously, he gave the four people permission to wander around; they were welcome to take Ryuji’s things if they could find them, but he’d rather that not attempt to rob him blind, if they could be so considerate. Clover then took the opportunity to ask if he could cast Stone to Flesh on her partner, as his mood seemed to be very good. He said sure, why not; he could prepare it when he got back, since he didn’t have it ready at the moment. Finally, ideas were tossed about in regards to where they might find more moon pearls. Clover suggested Julia; Pierce suggested Ratik’nun, or at least the person who summoned Xerxes; Harlequin thought that he and Gemini might be able to find someone with information; and Xander said that he knew a collector in the Underdark who might have something. He went on to suggest that they just break into her stronghold and steal everything; apparently, the two were not on friendly terms with each other. Xander exulted that he had friends and left them to their own devices, having other matters to attend to. He left them in the possession of some undead birds which would apparently repel the mindless, wandering hordes outside. They thanked him and left the manor, not wanting to push their luck with the necromancer's curious favour. They began to walk around town, poking around the storehouses for Ryuji’s things. The were actually reasonably successful, recognizing some of his more visible equipment, such as his bag, and his preferred armour and katana, neither of which he had been permitted to use while under Xander's command. They went on to replace his missing things with a lot of stuff that may or may not have possibly been close to what he had, such as enough yarn and crafting supplies to last fifty years. With nothing else to do there and still waiting for the next day when Ryuji and Cohen were scheduled to rejoin them, they summoned Xerxes in an attempt to locate the person who had summoned him when they met him at the Seat of the Firehawk. Despite his obstinate and stupid manner, they parsed from him that the person was actually in Engiadina. They teleported there immediately, following the imp, and were brought to a nice condominium complex. When they knocked on the door to the indicated apartment, Magdha answered. No one was pleased. The group, fed up with her attitude before even beginning, told her that they needed moon pearls, and that if she had any ideas, they’d like them. She informed them that she had been living at the Seat of the Firehawk, and had to retreat when the Firehawk arrived. She never saw the All there, or knew anything about a planar disturbance. With an air of aggravation, and after some debate, she agreed to look into finding a stone and would eventually maintain the ritual there, on the grounds that the others would clear out and secure the area for her. Rife with frustration at the obstinate and unhelpful woman, the group stormed off of her front step as she locked her door behind them.Category:Advent of the All